San Fermín 2018: The Running of the Bulls
July 6 to 14, 2018. The fewest gorings in 34 years: eight encierros, two gorings, and not a single run above three minutes.
Curated by Dennis Clancey
· Founder of Encierro, veteran bull runner
8
Encierros
2
Gored by horn
2:12
Fastest run
0
Deaths
What 2018 Was Really Like
Dennis Clancey · Founder, Encierro
2018 was the quietest I had run in years, and you felt it on the route. With 2016 still in your memory, twelve gorings in eight mornings, everyone was braced for it to happen again. It never did. Even Cebada Gago ran clean. Fuente Ymbro ran the fastest run of the fiesta to that day on the anniversary morning of Daniel Jimeno’s death. By the time Miura closed it on the Saturday, the fastest of the week, you realized something rare had happened: the whole fiesta had passed in under three minutes a run, all eight of them. Only two runners caught by horn across eight mornings. Some years you leave Pamplona grateful. 2018 was one of those years.
Dennis Clancey, Founder, Encierro
2018 in contextThe Fewest Gorings in 34 Years
The running of the bulls is never without risk, and 2018 was no exception: every morning the route held the same danger it always does, six fighting bulls covering 848.6 meters of narrow cobblestone from Santo Domingo to the ring, and any one of them could separate from the herd at any moment. But the numbers at the end of the fiesta told a story nobody had seen since 1984. Only two runners were gored by horn across eight mornings, the fewest since 1984.
The contrast with recent history made it starker. San Fermín 2016 produced 12 gorings across eight encierros. 2017 brought 7. Then 2018 arrived with its clean mornings. Not one of the eight encierros lasted more than three minutes, the first time that had happened since 2015. Read the full archive or the 2019 recap to see where 2018 fits in the longer record.
Two runners gored across eight mornings. The last time Pamplona saw a number like that, Ronald Reagan was in the White House.The Official Cartel
Official: The 2018 Cartel
Every San Fermín opens with a poster, chosen by public vote, that becomes the image of the fiesta for the year.
The 2018 San Fermín festival poster was created by Adriana Eransus Azpilicueta, selected by public vote from the annual cartel competition run by the Ayuntamiento de Pamplona.
The Feria del Toro poster, a separate commission by the Casa de Misericordia de Pamplona, was the work of French artist Laurent Pallatier, known as “Loren”, the first French artist commissioned for it. His design showed a minotaur with its back to the viewer, looking across the bullring where the encierro ends.
Municipal cartel: Pamplona, ciudad de luces (2018), by Adriana Eransus Azpilicueta. Feria del Toro cartel: Laurent Pallatier (“Loren”), commissioned by the Casa de Misericordia de Pamplona.
Morning by morningEvery 2018 Encierro, Day by Day
Each of the eight runs with its ganadería, time, horn injuries, and the video. The route runs 848.6 meters from Santo Domingo to the ring; see the route map.
Sat July 7 · First run
Puerto de San Lorenzo
2:37
Gored: 1
A runner was gored at the start of the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, the first time a bull of this ranch had wounded a runner in the encierro. Puerto de San Lorenzo was in just their second year at Pamplona.
Sun July 8 · Second run
José Escolar
2:57
Gored: 0
The slowest run of the fiesta, and a clean one. After three consecutive years with a bull turning back at Santo Domingo, the bulls ran the whole route and produced the first encierro in four participations with no horn injuries.
Mon July 9 · Third run
Cebada Gago
2:33
Gored: 0
The ganadería ran a fast, clean encierro, with gaps between the bulls and no runner gored.
Tue July 10 · Fourth run · Jimeno anniversary
Fuente Ymbro
2:15
Gored: 0
The fastest run of the fiesta to that day, and Fuente Ymbro’s fifth consecutive year with no horn injuries. The run took place on the 9th anniversary of Daniel Jimeno Romero’s death on Telefónica.
Wed July 11 · Fifth run
Núñez del Cuvillo
2:50
Gored: 0
A clean morning that ended a two-year run of Núñez del Cuvillo encierros with runners gored.
Thu July 12 · Sixth run
Victoriano del Río
2:20
Gored: 0
A fourth straight year without a horn injury for Victoriano del Río.
Fri July 13 · Seventh run
Jandilla
2:24
Gored: 1
The second goring of the fiesta: one runner was gored, ending a two-year clean streak for the ranch.
The Stories the Numbers Leave Out
The first goring
At the Start of Santo Domingo
On the opening morning, a Puerto de San Lorenzo bull gored a runner at the start of the Cuesta de Santo Domingo. It was the first time in the ranch’s two years at San Fermín that any of their bulls had reached a runner with a horn.
A clean Cebada Gago run
Cebada Gago Runs Clean
On July 9, Cebada Gago ran a fast, clean encierro in 2 minutes 33 seconds, and no runner was gored.
Speed and a clean run
Fuente Ymbro’s Fifth Clean Year
On the morning of the 9th anniversary of Daniel Jimeno’s death, Fuente Ymbro ran 848.6 meters in 2 minutes and 15 seconds, the fastest run of the fiesta to that day. It was also their fifth straight year with no horn injuries. The timing, on a morning that carries its own weight, was not lost on the bull runners who were there.
In Memory of Daniel Jimeno
The fourth run, on July 10, 2018, the ninth anniversary of the death of Daniel Jimeno Romero, passed Telefónica, where the Jandilla bull ‘Capuchino’ gored him, aged 27, on July 10, 2009.
That morning, Fuente Ymbro ran the route in 2:15 without a single horn injury. Daniel Jimeno remains the last person killed in the Pamplona encierro.
Beyond the runThe City in 2018
The chupinazo opened the fiesta at noon on Friday, July 6, fired from the Town Hall balcony by Motxila 21. Its members Ibai Ganuza and Leire Zabalza lit the fuse. Mayor Joseba Asirón delegated the rocket to a popular vote for the third year in a row.
The year’s official festival poster was by Adriana Eransus Azpilicueta, chosen by public vote. Nine evenings of fireworks lit the Ciudadela from July 6 to 14; the winner of the XIX International Fireworks Competition was ‘Pasión Navarra’, by Eduardo Moreno. At midnight on July 14, the candles came out for Pobre de Mí and the fiesta closed.
In the world press2018, As the World Saw It
International coverage of the 2018 running of the bulls in Pamplona.
The recordHow 2018 Came Together
The planning and key dates, kept on the record.
April 2018
The Feria del Toro cartel, a minotauro by French artist Laurent Pallatier (Loren), commissioned by the Casa de Misericordia, was presented to the public.
Spring 2018
The municipal festival poster by Adriana Eransus Azpilicueta was chosen by public vote to be the official image of San Fermín 2018.
The lineup
Eight ganaderías set for the eight encierros: Puerto de San Lorenzo, José Escolar, Cebada Gago, Fuente Ymbro, Núñez del Cuvillo, Victoriano del Río, Jandilla, and Miura, in order from July 7 to 14.
July 6, 2018
The chupinazo was fired by Motxila 21, opening nine days of fiesta.
July 7 to 14, 2018
Eight encierros, all completed in under three minutes: the first time that had happened since 2015. Two runners gored by horn across all eight mornings: the fewest since 1984.
July 14 to 15, 2018 (midnight)
Pobre de Mí closed the fiesta with the traditional candlelit farewell in the Plaza del Castillo.
San Fermín 2018, Answered
How many runners were gored in San Fermín 2018?
Two, the fewest since 1984. One runner was gored on July 7 by a Puerto de San Lorenzo bull in Santo Domingo, and one on July 13 by a Jandilla bull. The other six encierros produced no horn injuries.
Which ganaderías ran in San Fermín 2018?
Puerto de San Lorenzo (July 7), José Escolar (July 8), Cebada Gago (July 9), Fuente Ymbro (July 10), Núñez del Cuvillo (July 11), Victoriano del Río (July 12), Jandilla (July 13), and Miura (July 14).
What was the fastest encierro of 2018?
Miura on July 14, in 2 minutes and 12 seconds. The slowest was José Escolar at 2 minutes 57 seconds. No run exceeded three minutes, the first time that had happened since 2015.
Was anyone killed in the 2018 running of the bulls?
No. The last death in the Pamplona encierro was Daniel Jimeno Romero, who was gored on July 10, 2009. 2018 marked the ninth anniversary of his death.
Who fired the chupinazo at San Fermín 2018?
Ibai Ganuza and Leire Zabalza of Motxila 21, chosen by public vote for the third year in a row under Mayor Joseba Asirón. The fiesta opened at noon on July 6, 2018.
The story continued in 2019.
2018 set a standard of speed and clean running that the next fiesta would have to answer. See what happened when the bulls came back, or learn the route before you run it.
On the recordSources
Every fact on this page is checked against these sources. Where sources disagreed, the one closest to the day won.
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "La 'Pasion Navarra' de Eduardo Moreno, disparada el domingo 8 de julio, gana el XIX Concurso Internacional de Fuegos Artificiales", 2018. pamplona.es
- The Olive Press, "Costa del Sol expat's artwork chosen as official poster for Spain's most famous bull running festival", 2018-04-07. theolivepress.es
- Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, "Pamplona, ciudad de luces, de Adriana Eransus Azpilicueta, anunciara los Sanfermines 2018", 2018-05-16. pamplona.es
- Catalonia Today, "Sanfermin gets underway in festive mood", 2018-07-06. cataloniatoday.cat
- RTVE, "Primer encierro de San Fermín 2018 rápido, con dos toros descolgados", 2018-07-07. rtve.es
- The Objective, "Primer encierro de los Sanfermines (heridos)", 2018-07-07. theobjective.com
- RTVE, "Segundo encierro de San Fermín bastante limpio pese a la lluvia", 2018-07-08. rtve.es
- RTVE, "Tercer encierro rápido con huecos entre los toros de Cebada Gago", 2018-07-09. rtve.es
- RTVE, "Cuarto encierro velocísimo y limpio con los toros de Fuente Ymbro", 2018-07-10. rtve.es
- RTVE, "Quinto encierro peligroso con los toros de Núñez del Cuvillo", 2018-07-11. rtve.es
- RTVE, "6º encierro emocionante con toros de Victoriano del Río", 2018-07-12. rtve.es
- RTVE, "Séptimo encierro vibrante de los Jandilla con un herido por asta de toro", 2018-07-13. rtve.es
- RTVE, "Último encierro vertiginoso con los Miura", 2018-07-14. rtve.es
- Onda Vasca, "16 fallecidos en el encierro desde 1900", 2022-07-11. ondavasca.com